The Old Gumbie Cat

I have a Gumbie Cat in mind Her name is Jennyanydots Her coat is of the tabby kind With tiger stripes and leopard spots All day she sits upon the stairs Or on the steps or on the mat She sits and sits and sits and sits And that's what makes a Gumbie Cat That's what makes a Gumbie Cat But When the day's hustle and bustle is done Then the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun And when all the family's in bed and asleep She tucks up her skirts to the basement to creep She is deeply concerned with the ways of the mice Their behavior's not good and their manners not nice So when she has got them lined up on the matting She teaches them Music, crocheting, and tatting I have a Gumbie Cat in mind Her name is Jennyanydots Her equal would be hard to find She likes the warm and sunny spots All day she sits beside the hearth Or on the bed or my hat She sits and sits and sits and sits And that's what makes a Gumbie Cat That's what makes a Gumbie Cat But When the day's hustle and bustle is done Then the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun As she finds that the mice will not ever keep quiet She is sure it is due to Irregular diet And believing that Nothing is done without trying She sets right to work with her baking and frying She makes them a mouse-cake of bread and dried peas And a beautiful fry of lean bacon and cheese I have a Gumbie Cat in mind Her name is Jennyanydots The curtain-cord she likes to wind And tie it into sailor-knots She sits upon the window-sill Or anything that's smooth and flat She sits and sits and sits and sits And that's what makes a Gumbie Cat That's what makes a Gumbie Cat But When the day's hustle and bustle is done Then the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun She thinks that the cockroaches Need employment To prevent them from Idle and wanton destroyment So she's formed from that lot of disorderly louts A troop of well-disciplined helpful Boy Scouts With a purpose in life and a good deed to do And she's even created a Beetles' Tattoo So for Old Gumbie Cats let us now give three cheers On whom well-ordered households depend, it appears Three cheers, three cheers, three cheers For she's a jolly good fellow Thank you, my dears